Road less traveled can lead to fine eating

March 20, 2006|TIM CARRIGAN

I am a simple person. I get up in the morning at the same time and I leave the house at about the same time every day. I always take the same path to work. I don't think I have any strange disorder, although I once didn't shave for two months as a good-luck boost to help the Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl. (It worked.) I am like millions of other people on a daily journey of life. The point I'm taking a while to get to is this: We see tons of fast-food places and chain restaurants on every corner. We should seek out the fine local gems, like a small bakery and hometown eateries. In Buchanan, we have a small restaurant called the Hilltop Cafe. It offers all-you-can-eat fish on Fridays and daily soup and dinner specials that are always tasty. So the next time you pass through some small towns as you head to work or the mall, take a chance and try a new place to eat. Or stop at a bakery to buy some fresh baked goods. Chances are, you will be pleasantly surprised how original the food is or how it's made fresh. Step out of the box and change your daily routine a bit. Try somewhere new and support your local community. It will be good for everyone. Too thin cookiesWhen baking cookies, why do they spread out too much, becoming really thin and almost lacy on the edges and puffy in the middle?Becky, Buchanan When making new recipes, always keep in mind you don't know who wrote the recipe. There are so many different kinds of flour. If that cook uses bread flour instead of all-purpose flour, that would make a huge difference. If this is a recipe that has turned out before and just started to mess up, look at your flour. It may be getting old and need to be replaced. When flour gets too old, it starts to lose its structure-building ability and your recipes will go haywire. Weep no moreWhen making meringue pie, I follow the directions and whip the meringue until stiff peaks form. It looks great coming out of the oven, fluffy and golden brown. But soon afterwards, the meringue falls and starts to weep. What can I do?Carol, Mishawaka When making meringue, make sure you have an ice-cold bowl, and that it is completely clean. A lot of times, if there is any oil residue at all, the meringue will appear to set up completely but it truly hasn't. The other thing to watch out for is making sure you add the sugar to the egg white mixture slowly. If you add it too fast, it doesn't have time to incorporate into the egg whites to form a strong bond. This shows up in the end result by falling and weeping. Chef Tim Carrigan is the chair of the Culinary Arts Department at Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend. Kitchen Sync is a weekly column featuring Chef Tim's food musings and answers to readers' cooking questions. Send your questions to Chef Tim via e-mail at tcarriga@ivytech.edu or by mail at 220 Dean Johnson Blvd., South Bend, IN 46601.